Wednesday, December 01, 2010

ANTOINE DUPRAT, CHANCELLOR OF FRANCE

Antoine Duprat (17 January 1463–1535) was a French Cardinal and politician, who was Chancellor of France .

He was born in Issoire in Auvergne .

Educated for the law, he won a high position in his profession and in 1507 became first president of the Parlement of Paris (the highest court of France).

In 1515 Francis I, recently crowned King of France, made Antoine Duprat Chancellor of France and Prime Minister.

In 1517, after his wife's death, Duprat took the holy orders, and soon began to rise into de Catholic hierarchy.
First as Bishop of several dioceses held by him in plurality;
then as Archbishop of Sens, 1525
Cardinal, 1527,
and Legate a Latere , 1530.

Duprat's influence extended much beyond the departments of Justice and Finance placed under his direct control.

French historian Gabriel Hanotaux , in the introduction to his Recueil des instructions , calls Duprat :
"One of the most notable men of ancient France, second only to Richelieu in the decisive influence he exercised on the destinies of his country."

This influence was constantly exerted to strengthen royal absolute power; it was felt in the measures he took against the grands Seigneurs and in his elaborate fiscal system.

Duprat left no writings, but took a leading part in the compilation of the "Coutumes d'Auvergne"; he also did much to encourage the renaissance of letters.

Duprat's influence was also manifested, together with his orthodoxy, in those measures which affected the relations of France with the Church, namely, the signing of the Concordat of Bologna , and the checking of nascent Protestantism .

The Concordat, which Duprat himself negotiated with Pope Leo X at Bologna , did away with the principles of the "Pragmatic Sanction"; on the other hand, by causing the appointment of the French hierarchy to rest on royal nomination instead of the old canonical elections, it vested in the civil power an authority over Church affairs.

Duprat's uncompromising attitude towards Protestantism was dictated both by his political sense, as well as his Catholic orthodoxy.

The Protestant sympathies of Marguerite d'Angouleme , the Duchesse d'Etampes , and the Minister du Bellay failed to move him.

The Sorbonne and the Parlement were instructed to exclude the writings of the innovators; in 1534 the posting of subversive pamphlets at the door of the royal apartments cost the perpetrators their lives.

FIELD of THE CLOTH OF GOLD, 1520

In the early 16th century, the powers in Europe were France, ruled by Francis I, and the Holy Roman Empire, led by Charles V.

Henry VIII of England needed desperately to forge an alliance with one of the parties.

In 1520, prompted by his chief advisor Cardinal Wolsey, Henry approached Francis I, and the two agreed on a meeting near Calais, between Guines and Ardres. The young kings, each considered paragons of monarchy in their respective countries, had long been rivals both personally and politically.

Thus, the kings set out to impress and outshine each other, arriving at the meeting with large retinues.

In attempting to outshow the other, the kings spared no expense in their displays of wealth.

They erected pavilions made with cloth of gold (real filaments of gold sewn with silk to make the fabric), organized jousts and other competitions of skill and strength, banqueted each other lavishly, in all ways trying to outdo and outspend one another.

This ostentation earned the meeting the title "Field of the Cloth of Gold."

The feasting ended abruptly when King Henry challenged King Francis to a wrestling match which ended in Francis throwing Henry to the ground and besting him.

The meeting, which had taken place over three weeks (June 7-June 24, 1520) nearly bankrupted the treasuries of France and England, and was useless politically.

Francis and Henry signed no treaty, and a few weeks later Henry signed a treaty of alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

Within a month, the Emperor declared war on Francis, and England had to follow suit.

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Books for Further Study:

Mee, Charles L., Jr. Playing God: Seven Fateful Moments When Great Men Met To Change The World. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Russell, Joycelyne Gledhill. The Field of Cloth of Gold: Men and Manners in 1520. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969.